Meet Erin Bacon of The Bacon School of Music in Harvard Square

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Bacon.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In fourth grade, my school allowed students to join the strings program and I knew immediately that I wanted to learn the cello! It was several years of once a week, in school, group classes before I started taking private lessons, but the entire time I looked forward to that one day a week where I would get to leave class to play my cello. I enjoyed playing and studying so much that my sophomore year of high school I decided to apply to the world-renowned Interlochen Arts Academy in Traverse City Michigan, and I am happy to say that I was accepted and graduated from IAA. For the entirety of my two years there I worked with a phenomenal conductor and mentor, Matthew Hazelwood, as well as other inspirational teachers, and I think their passion and love of teaching made a lasting impression on me.

My first real teaching experience happened while I was at Interlochen. I participated in a volunteer program where we would go and work with students at a local elementary school. Since then I have continued to teach in some capacity. For example, while attending Syracuse, I taught students from first through sixth grade at a private school in the inner city. For my Master’s degree, I purposefully picked a school that, in their program and mission statement, emphasized teaching. I studied not just the cello, musicality and technique, but also pedagogy (the science of teaching), and teaching artistry. Also as part of my degree, I had to create an interactive concert and go out into the community to perform it. Another requirement was to teach a student in Cambridge for ten weeks. Luckily for me, that student enjoyed our lessons as much as I did, and I still teach this student. However, due to the demands of my graduate studies, I did not have the time to teach as many students as I would have liked, so after finishing my degrees and taking some time to settle, I started The Bacon School of Music.

Has it been a smooth road?
My journey with the cello has been a little rocky in several ways but all of these bumps have helped strengthen me as a performer, a teacher, and most importantly as an individual. I have studied with a usually high number of teachers, eleven to be precise, and let me be clear, I was never kicked out of any of those studios 😉 The change in instructors was due to teachers moving away, my transition between schools, instructors going on sabbatical, and my own studies abroad. So although in some ways this made learning technique very confusing (since every teacher had their own approach and opinion on the matter), it has provided me with an arsenal of approaches, explanations, and teaching techniques that I combine to try to bring my students the best of what the eleven teachers taught me.

Another struggle was dealing with overuse injuries, one of which was so severe that a specialist informed me that I “would never be able to play cello again.” For almost two years I could not play, I became depressed for a period but was too stubborn and loved cello too much to let what he said prevent me from continuing my cello journey. I did physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, and craniosacral therapy to get back to being able to play for ten minutes. There was a year with a lot of patience as well as plenty of frustration while I built back up to the point where I could apply for Master’s programs in cello performance.

Once I could play again, I was determined to kick my fear of public performance and not only work on playing cello in a way that uses my body more efficiently, but to also work on my mental state, performance anxiety, and develop smarter practicing methods. These struggles obviously made my time at the cello more difficult but I have learned a great deal from the process of working through them. I like to think that they have helped me discover weaknesses and turn them into strengths. The journey through all of these adversities has given me a great deal of resources and knowledge on how to tackle a variety of problems that students might experience. My belief is that my experiences allow me to make my students’ journeys with their cellos easier, more fulfilling, and more rewarding.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the The Bacon School of Music story. Tell us more about the business.
The simple answer is I teach people how to play the cello, but in my lessons that, learning how to play the cello also includes ear training, sight reading, ensemble work, studio classes, and practice techniques.

What sets me apart even more is that I incorporate elements from Alexander Technique, The Feldenkrais Method, meditation, yoga, some light strength training/stretching, muscle awareness, and mindfulness. I think that when all of these components are combined that a student is best prepared to learn and advance as a person and musician. My teacher, Terry King, said the following about his teacher, Gregor Piatigorsky. “Piatigorsky gave me the courage to become myself and the means by which to do it.” Terry has helped me to become myself by providing me the means by which to do it and my hope and dream is that I can do the same for my students.

Also, I love cellos. The actual instruments themselves. I have helped several individuals with purchasing a cello and or bow. I spend time hanging around and consulting for violin and bow shops and I enjoy spending my free time learning more about the instruments, their makers, and when possible, the history. Consulting on purchasing instruments is another thing that I enjoy and do in addition to performing and teaching.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Yes, there will hopefully be some big changes in the next 5-10 years! At the moment, I only offer cello lessons but soon violin, viola, and piano lessons will be offered as well.

With the growth of my school I will be able to offer more classes such as a cello ensemble, chamber music, and thanks to a guest instructor/personal trainer workout seminar geared towards musicians will be offered. With all of these additions a larger space will definitely be needed and ideally everything can take place under one roof. I have been seeking out teachers that have their own unique stories and bring their own special bag of tricks to teach at the school. Teaching at The Bacon School of Music is passionate and the approach is tailored to each student, I cannot imagine it being done any other way.

Pricing:

• 60 Minute Lessons (Recommended)- $80
• 90 Minute Lessons-$120
• 45 Minute Lessons- $60

Contact Info:

• Address: Chauncy Street,
  Cambridge, MA 02138
• Website: BaconSchoolofMusic.com
• Phone: (703) 509-6023
• Email: Erin@TheBaconSchoolofMusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecellobacon/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaconSchoolofMusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CelloBacon

Image Credit:
Paul Sayed

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